Training parenting plan evaluators: Looking towards the future

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Robert L. Kaufman,Robin M. Deutsch,April Harris‐Britt
• Date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12754

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Training parenting plan evaluators: Looking

towards the future

Robert L. Kaufman

1

|Robin M. Deutsch

2

|April Harris-Britt

3

1

Independent Practice, San Rafael,

California, USA

2

Independent Practice, Newton,

Massachusetts, USA

3

Independent practice, Durham, North

Carolina, USA

Correspondence

Robert L. Kaufman, 711 D Street, Suite

209, San Rafael, CA 94901, USA.

Email: rk@rkaufmanphd.com

Abstract

Standards of practice for parenting plan evaluations

continue to evolve, informed by advances in research and

the development of innovative, evidence-based approaches

to assessment and intervention. Parenting plan evaluators

are asked to inform the court, parents, and other profes-

sionals on how to address the complex needs of increas-

ingly diverse families amid reorganization, high conflict, and

crisis. How can we attract and properly train new mental

health professionals to do important work in an increasingly

strained adversarial system? How can evaluators keep up

with these advances over the course of their careers? How

can they deepen and refine their skills to work with a

diverse array of individuals, family constellations and an

enormous range of family circumstances? And how can

evaluators care for their own well-being and their col-

leagues? In this article, the authors describe a multi-

dimensional approach to training both new and experienced

custody evaluators that includes imparting baseline knowl-

edge on how to conduct quality parenting plan evaluations

as a starting point. We discuss a variety of modalities and

approaches that can enable evaluators to deepen and

expand their skills over the years, contribute to the diverse

community of family law professionals, and manage the

exceptional demands of working in this field.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12754

© 2023 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2023;61:719–733. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 719